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Analysis of William Shakespeare
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Macbeth is an extreme sociopath this point during scene five. Macbeth is questioning himself and his values while in preparation for war. This war of course was brought to his front door when Malcolm and Macduff came to overthrow him. Macbeth had numerous thoughts on his mind, but Lady Macbeth happened to be his last thought. Unlike Macduff’s reaction to his family dyeing, Macbeth had a rather peculiar response to his deceased wife. Consequently, Macbeth’s words revealed a major theme from the plot of the story. The major theme divulged was how ambition, greed, and tyranny will always continue to circulate through mankind. Macbeth never shows sympathy to his wife, Lady Macbeth, when learning about her death. Macbeth, in the context of the situation, knows his wife died from pure insanity. However, Macbeth reveals why her death was ultimately fate. He states, “To the last syllable of recorded time; / And all our yesterdays have …show more content…
lighted fools / The way to dusty death”(lll. 21-23). This statement illustrates how greed and desire for power will never end for mankind. Macbeth speaks of history and how one power will fall and the other will rise. Consequently, the rise and fall of power involves death of loved ones. In the Macbeth story, loved ones who died included Lady Macbeth, and Lady Macduff’s children. Out of those three, Lady Macbeth is deeply connected with Macbeth. Therefore, Macbeth opened up to the readers through a loved one's death. Macbeth explains another theme in the plot by stating, “ Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player, / That struts and frets his hour upon the stage, / And then is heard no more”(lll.
24-26). Macbeth explains how humans have short times of either being famous or powerful. However, he states how they are eventually forgotten and their fame or power would become worthless. This theme he reveals ironically happens to Macbeth shortly after he leaves the dead Lady Macbeth. Later on, Macduff kills Macbeth and brings Macbeth’s butchered head to Malcolm. Malcolm speaks to his soldiers and regards to Macbeth by stating, “Producing forth the cruel ministers / Of this dead butcher and his fiend-like queen,”(ll. 35-36). This is said after Malcolm specifically says, “ We shall not spend a large expense of time,”(l. 27). Malcolm wants the dreadful time of Macbeth’s tyranny to be forgotten quickly by the Scottish people. Therefore, Macbeth’s thoughts on how humans are “poor players” and are forgotten easily goes hand in hand with the end of the
story.
In the myth of Icarus, the renowned artisan Daedalus and his son Icarus defied the gods in an act of hubris by flying, defying their mortal limits. Daedalus and his son flew with the aid of improvised wings composed of feathers and wax. Daedalus warned his son not to fly too low or too high or else the wings would be drenched by the waves or the wax would be melted by the sun. However young Icarus, filled with pride and ambition, while enjoying the act of flight, flew too high and the heat liquified the wax adhering the wings together. Icarus then plummeted into the Aegean Sea and drowned. (Shmoop editors) As seen in the myth of Icarus, his pride and youthful ambition coerced him to desire more, he was aware of the consequences previously indicated by his father yet he still opted for more. Just like any other circumstance, an excess of ambition can be a detrimental trait. Ambition is a common thread portrayed in both Macbeth, by William Shakespeare and The Crucible, by Arthur Miller that can be distinguished in a variety of similar and adverse ways such as ambition out of desperation, instilled ambition and ambition towards power.
The choices people make lead them to where they end up, which may be interpreted as the opposite of fate. However, when some people believe something is meant to be, they are determined not to stray from where they think they should end up, even if it means throwing away their principles and values in the process. Through Shakespeare's Tragedy of Macbeth, Macbeth’s original character and values are destroyed because of the influence from the witches' prophecies, Lady Macbeth's greed, and his own hidden ambition.
Throughout The Tragedy of Macbeth, we see Macbeth change from a noble and brave soldier into a mere shadow of his former self. We meet Macbeth after a battle, the result of which has him named Thane of Cawdor. From this position, he falls to a paranoid man willing to do anything to remain in power. We can see his deterioration from the murders of Duncan and Banquo, Macbeth's second meeting with the witches, his treatment of Macduff's castle and his mental condition just before he is murdered.
In the beginning of the play Macbeth is a well respected hero who appears to be a great guy. However, by the end of the play it is clear that Macbeth is a selfish, troubled man with a conscience that seems to serve no purpose. In lines 81-82 on page 240, Macbeth tells how he must mislead the world and hide his dark side from it. "Away, and mock the time with fairest show: False face must hide what the false heart doth know." On page 249 Macbeth does a good job of hiding his dark side before finding the dead king with Macduff. "Is the king stirring, worthy Thane?" asks Macduff.
The play Macbeth, by William Shakespeare illustrates how greed for power and wealth can result in the destruction of oneself as well as others. The play's central character, Macbeth is not happy as a high-ranking thane - leading him to assassinate Duncan to become King, while unknowingly dooming himself. Throughout the play many examples are evident of Macbeth's unquenchable thirst for power.
Greed is a powerful obstacle that impedes a man from obtaining his true desires. Ambition must be controlled in order to prevent self-destruction. The motive, “by all means necessary”, consist of self-destructive ambition. Once preying on others becomes effortless or pointless you can only prey upon yourself. Overeagerness and equivocation is the affliction possessed in Macbeth’s self-destructed conscience. Eventually, the destruction can lead to confusion and suicide. In Shakespeare’s play “Macbeth”, Macbeth is told a prophecy by three witches revealing that he would be King of Scotland. In order for the ambitious Macbeth to take the throne, he must use the influence of his wife to murder King Duncan. Ultimately, Macbeth is an equivocator
The vigorous desire to achieve and willingly attain something holds the capability to greatly affect one's life. William Shakespeare's play Macbeth establishes the immense effect and influence of ambition. After gaining power over his country Scotland, the protagonist, Macbeth, experiences an internal downfall as he battles between his wants and moral judgement. He struggles to maintain stable relationships with others as his selfish desires and goals hurt those around him when achieved. In addition to clashing with himself and others, he is seen as a tyrant leader and is slowly turned against by Scotland's nation as well as England. Shakespeare's play Macbeth provides the reader with a clear understanding of ambition's corrupting power in Shakespeare's tragic character Macbeth, through his inner conflicts, struggle to maintain stable relationships with those surrounding him, and clash with society.
Macbeth and The Crucible are both plays that deal with the social construct of our society. The plays reflect the corruption of a person and of a society and what influences the corruption. The theme of corruption is reflected in Shakespeare's character Macbeth, and Arthur Miller’s character John Proctor. Macbeth and John Proctor are both tragic heroes in famous plays. As a result of circumstances, people are often forced to reinvent their perspectives on life in order to adapt to changed situations. While Macbeth starts as a hero and changes into a villain and becomes corrupted,John proctor starts bad, but changes his moral character by the end of the play.
always seek to obtain more. For example, when Adolf Hitler came into power, he desired to rule the world, and would stop at nothing to rule. Overtime, Hitler took over many countries and attained more and more power until, eventually, he brought on his own demise. Similarly, in the Elizabethan tragedy Macbeth, William Shakespeare shows how greed develops a lust for power, which causes people to abandon their values and, ultimately, leads to the demise of the greedy people, as well as those around them.
Shakespeare is a shockingly influential writer and his play Macbeth is full of literary examples of our society today. Macbeth is known for being greedy, and that is something that humans should not have today. If someone have greed then nothing can ever be enough because no matter what they do then they will always try to find something better. Someone who is going after something they want like a new car or house or new job would keep trying and not give up until they finally receive what they are looking for. Macbeth demonstrates through his greed how human beings are always going to want more and and that they will never be satisfied.
Luke Fox Ms. Leibforth English 2H-2 5 May 2017 The Curse of Ambition “All Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”(Lord Acton) A notorious quote that has been proven true time and time again. It's Human nature to lust for power, but unchecked ambitions and desires for power will ultimately lead to a person's downfall. Ambition, greed, and pride can all cause a person to desire power. But if there’s one thing we know it’s that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Through-out history Kings, queens, tsars, presidents, etc. have all taken their power too far. In History, powerful leaders are way more commonly known as corrupt and horrible tyrants than right and just kings. Even in modern society, it is
The ability to attain personal gain will inevitably affect one’s ambition by creating greed. This is shown in both Vincenzo Camuccini’s 1798 painting, Death of Caesar, and the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare. Death of Caesar depicts the brutal betrayal and murder of self proclaimed “Emperor for life” Julius Caesar by members of his own senate. Macbeth is a story of a former Thane and his wife’s plots to attain and keep power over the lands of Scotland. Lady Macbeth acts as a catalyst to this by strategizing the plot to murder Duncan, the king, and have Macbeth take his throne. Both Lady Macbeth and the Roman Senators show through their drastic actions that when one is relentlessly driven to achieve authority, they become greedy with the
In life, each and every person must know how to control their own greed and selfishness, If exploited in exactly the right moment greed can make you. But if used at the wrong moment it can break you.
"This dead butcher and his fiend like queen"(V.viii.80) is the way Malcolm describes Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. The characters of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth changed considerably during the course of the play, Macbeth, written by William Shakespeare. In the beginning of the play, Macbeth is seen as a courageous soldier who is loyal to the King. As the play progresses, Macbeth is corrupted by the witches’ prophecies and by his and Lady Macbeth’s ambition. Because of the weakness of Macbeth’s character and the strength of Lady Macbeth’s character, Lady Macbeth is able to easily influence him. Lady Macbeth pushes Macbeth toward evil at first, but after he realizes what he has done, it is his decision to continue down the murderous, bloody path.
Moreover, a tragic hero is one who has a hamartia, a tragic flaw that eventually results in the downfall of the hero. In the case of both Macbeth and Mark Zuckerberg, this tragic flaw rears its ugly head in the form of one of the seven sins -- greed. For both these characters their greed is deeply ingrained into their lives and can evidently be seen triggering the rising action in both storylines. In the Shakespearean play, Macbeth’s greed can be seen after his first encounter with the weird sisters. After the three witches greet him with “...thane of Glamis... / ... thane of Cawdor… / ...[and he] that shalt be king hereafter!” (Act I, Scene iii, 49-51), Macbeth goes off to an aside in which the audience is privy to his innermost thoughts